The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a method and device for displaying an indication of the quality of the three-dimensional data for a surface of a viewed object.
Video inspection devices, such as video endoscopes, can be used to inspect a surface of a viewed object to identify and analyze irregularities on that surface that may have resulted from damage or wear of the object. In many instances, the surface is inaccessible and cannot be viewed without the use of the video inspection device. For example, a video endoscope can be used to inspect the surface of a blade of a turbine engine on an aircraft or power generation unit to identify any irregularities that may have formed on the surface to determine if any repair or further maintenance is required. In order to make that assessment, it is often necessary to obtain highly accurate dimensional measurements of the surface and the irregularity to verify that the irregularity does not exceed or fall outside an operational limit or required specification for that object.
In order to determine the dimensions of an irregularity on the surface, a video inspection device can be used to obtain and display a two-dimensional image of a surface of a viewed object showing the irregularity. This two-dimensional image of the surface can be used to generate three-dimensional data (e.g., in the form of a map) of the surface that provides the three-dimensional coordinates (e.g., (x, y, z)) of a plurality of points on the surface, including in a region of interest on the surface (e.g., proximate an irregularity). In some video inspection devices, the operator can operate the video inspection device in a measurement mode to enter a measurement screen in which the operator places cursors on the two-dimensional image in the region of interest to determine geometric dimensions of the irregularity. In addition to performing measurements during the inspection in measurement mode, the operator can also save images without necessarily entering into measurement mode and perform measurements at a later time.
An accurate measurement of the irregularity can only be performed if there are accurate three-dimensional coordinates available for the surface points proximate the irregularity that are selected to perform the measurement. For example, in some areas of the surface, three-dimensional coordinates may not be available due to excessive target distance, pixel saturation, shadowing, etc. In other areas, three-dimensional coordinates may be available, but the accuracy of those coordinates may be poor due to reflections, other light quality issues, etc. When an operator views the two-dimensional image of the surface to perform measurements, there is no indication of which areas do not have three-dimensional coordinates to perform a measurement or those areas that have potentially inaccurate three-dimensional coordinates.
Without this indication of the quality of the three-dimensional data for the surface, while taking a measurement, the operator can unknowingly place the cursor in an area where there are no three-dimensional coordinates or in an area where there are inaccurate three-dimensional coordinates. This can lead to inaccurate measurements or, in those cases where the video inspection device notifies the operator that there are no three-dimensional coordinates available, delays the measurement process until the operator can obtain another image with accurate three-dimensional data. If the operator is performing measurements on an image that was saved during an earlier inspection and the region of interest does not have accurate three-dimensional data, a measurement may not be able to be performed without having to re-perform the inspection. Therefore, there is a need to provide an indication of the quality of the three-dimensional data for the surface while performing measurements or saving images for later measurement.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.